Even though Siena isn’t very far we still left at a decent time in the morning. We wanted to see the race on one of the ‘white roads’ so headed for the area southeast of the city. The journey there was thru some very beautiful countryside.
We followed two sections of the white roads and decided to go back on race day to partway along the longest section, which starts just outside the town of Asciano.
Having a general idea of where we were going to watch from we went back to the town to a park-for-the-night site and settled for the evening.
The next morning we walked around the town a bit, and had a very nice cappuccino at an outdoor cafe.
On the way Colin pointed out a building the had lots of windows – but some of them weren’t real, just painted on!
It was a very hot day – I tried to have a nap in the afternoon since my energy was so sapped but only managed to doze a bit.
We went back into the town in the evening and had dinner – I had the ‘pork plate’ that was five or six different kinds of pork meat, all of which was just delicious.
I did have a bit of assistance from Mo, but managed to do a pretty good job of it.
On Saturday night Antonio had a special dinner down at the bar, and we were asked days before if we’d like to attend. Tables were set up outside all along the street and dozens of people attended
We sat at a table with John and Janet, the brits we’d met first a few months ago. They’ve owned their house here for seven years now and know many of the locals – they also speak fluent italian, and are very friendly and welcoming to us. Also at our table were Aldo and Mario who each have houses near J&J across the ‘valley’ from us.
The dinner was roast pork, which came whole – minus the bones, but including the head.
It was a lovely evening – lots of families, live music, good conversation, and the star of the night, the pork, which was just delicious.
It was a lovely evening all around – I hope there’s another one someday.
The geese across from us are getting bigger – there must be a ‘head goose’ as they always move in a bunch. If you see one, you know the others are all nearby.
One day we were sitting having our morning cappuccino at the bar when a family went by on a vespa – no one wearing a helmet, even the child.
The local fellows have done more work on the previously overgrown land below us – it’s completely cleared and flattened, and we’re a bit curious what’s going to be done with it.
We had a load of firewood delivered by a friend of Antonio’s, and it took us three days to move it all one wheelbarrow at a time from the parking area below us, up the steps and piled neatly in the storage area off the terrace.
We could only manage an hour or so at a time because of the heat, and luckily Angelo helped as well.
I’ve had a couple of really nice rides, but the exciting thing is that we’re leaving tomorrow to see our first race of the season – Strade Bianche! It was the one I came over for so long ago, and was cancelled/delayed the day after I arrived. After that it’s up north for two more – fingers crossed.
A few days ago we were heading home from our morning cappuccino in the bar when we stopped to look into the garden at the end of the post office building. The fellow had been clearing the place up and we peered over the stone wall to see what progress had been made.
Suddenly we saw a movement, albeit a slow one- it was a tortoise! A couple of days later we stopped again, and saw that there were two of them. Then the next day the owner of the garden was there and Colin started chatting with him. The slightly larger tortoise is female, and is 50 years old (!) and the other one is the male and is 30.
There are also a bunch of little ones of various ages – he rounded up three of them to show us, each a year apart in age. He’s got a nice little fence to protect his tomato plants – apparently they are a favourite snack
Another day we were walking down to the bar and when we were descending the 78 steps under the arch we saw that a few of the local fellows were doing some more work, both outside and inside.
We chatted for a bit, then one of them took me inside to show me the little chapel that’s right above the arch.
I also got a better view of the painting under the arch – he indicated that it was six hundred years old!
I went for a very nice ride one morning before it got too hot – the sunflowers are out and many of the fields have been cut, bailed and re-ploughed for a second planting.
We went out one night to try to catch sight, and maybe some photos of the comet, but even though we knew where to look for it we didn’t get a glimpse.
However the hundreds of fireflies flitting around in the bushes along the walk back home made up for it.
We started out by taking the road up behind the village of Mascioni – the one I’d seen the horses on the day before. No horses this time, but it did wind up, around and down until you could see another part of the lake.
We turned the other direction, however, and wound our way generally west, through the town of Montereale, then further on to a more main road. 
After a bit we stopped for a cappuccino and a quick bite to eat in the town of Terme di Cotilia. As soon as I got out of the campervan I said ‘I don’t like it here – it stinks’, and we realized we’d parked right outside the hot springs and it smells like sulphur/rotten eggs.
In the morning the light was excellent – mist rising and birds chirping – very lovely and quiet. 
I walked around a bit and saw a cat, then a little further a couple more. I thought – oh, there are three, no – four.
In the end I counted seven fairly young ones all at the far end of the campground – it looked like more of a permanent place rather than a short-term one.
On our way again we had a fairly easy drive home to Papiano, stopping in Marsciano for groceries along the way. As we passed through the village we stopped at the bar for a drink before even going up to the house. Our welcome by Antonio and some of the ‘regulars’ was so warm and friendly – almost as if we’re ‘home’!
So appropriate – Italy and sunglasses – such is my life right now….sigh!
The drive from Pescopennataro to Lago di Campotosto was beautiful. We stopped in Sulmona for a few groceries, then continued north/northwest, skirting L’Aquila and on deeper into the mountains. 
The lake is gorgeous and the campground has a lovely view – we arrived mid-afternoon, so just settled in and relaxed for the rest of the day. It’s much cooler up in the mountains of course, and I’d actually put my long pants on for the first time in weeks.
The next morning I got on the bike and took a ride around, taking a wrong turn or two. 
The first side trip was right up into the centre of the village of Mascioni – all steep, narrow cobbled streets. Going up was way easier than going down – I made my way down as slowly as possible and did my best to stay upright.
After successfully negotiating the cobbles back down I took another side road that was a dead end. Back to the main road I ended up going behind the village and up into the hills above.
I thought that if I kept going I might eventually reach another part of the lake, but after quite a ways out I decided to turn back just after I saw a group of beautiful wild horses. Or maybe they weren’t wild, but there were no fences.
After going back down all the way to the lake I headed along the shore road to the end of the bridge, where there were several campervans parked as well as a cafe/concession stand.
I asked for a cappuccino but the fellow said he was waiting for the milk delivery – could be 10 minutes or so.
I waited for a bit, but realized that if I didn’t get going soon I wouldn’t be able to make myself move, so left without my caffeine jolt.
The ride back to the campground wasn’t difficult until the last several hundred meters – even with max assistance I had to work very hard to make it up – dodging a couple of walkers and a dog (nice dog – not on a leash but very well behaved).
Upon reaching the campervan at the top level of the terraced campground I saw two other riders about to leave – I panted ‘even with the assistance its hard work!’ and the guy answered me in english. He’s in fact from Ireland and his lady friend is from Perugia – Colin joined us for a nice chat before they went on their ride.
We had pre-arranged to have lunch in the campground’s restaurant and it was very good. A really nice antipasto consisting of beans, cheeses and meats, followed by a primo of spaghetti with ragu. We passed on the secondo, although we could smell it and were tempted, but too full.
We spotted a nice looking restaurant just outside the town of Borgo Venusio, but finding a way into the parking lot was a challenge. After finally winding our way down and around we got in. We brought the dogs inside with us and luckily they were welcome.
We ended up getting a little more than we bargained for – both an appetizer and main course. The antipasto was several kinds of meat and cheese, as well as olives and bread. The primo was eggplant parmeggiano, and it was excellent – although I did my best I couldn’t quite finish it.
Back on our way we continued north to the coast, and bypassing Bari stopped a little further along just before the town of Bisceglie. The campground is lovely – lots of older olive trees and and not a long walk from the Sea.
They have geese and ducks, as well as a large vegetable garden. They evidently keep very good care of the shrubs, flowers and other trees as it all looks immaculate. The pool area is wonderful, and the only drawback for us was the loud music.
I’d pitched my tent right under a large olive tree, and Mo and I were just settling down for the night when the music started. It went on and on – I finally took Mo for a walk and to try to find out what was going on. Some very nice staff members told me – very apologetically – that it was a private party and would go on for at least another two hours. Mo just wouldn’t settle down so I had to dump her in the campervan and try to settle myself.
After about 4 hours sleep I got up to another sunny morning. We spent the day in the shade and keeping out of the heat. I asked about the music for the night and was assured that they didn’t think there would be another party.
After everyone had left the pool for dinner I took advantage of the empty pool to have a nice swim. Alas, it only lasted half a length as I was called over to the side by a staff member. He had to call another member over who spoke english – apparently it’s a ‘law’ in Puglia that you have to wear a cap, and I didn’t have one. Even tho the pool was empty but for me they wouldn’t even let me have five minutes – bummer!
I had a better sleep than the previous night, although someone next door was playing music, thankfully not as loud as the campground’s private party night.
Leaving the coast again we decided to head inland for the journey back to Papiano. We passed by Foggia, and stopped just off the highway outside Campobasso for lunch of homemade meatballs with spaghetti – ok the spaghetti wasn’t homemade but the meatballs were.
Fortified by a good meal we continued on kind of southwest for a bit to Isernia, then generally north to the mountain village of Pescopennataro – another challenge. 
Not only did it start raining on the way, as we climbed higher and higher it got more and more foggy.
The morning was much clearer – not exactly blue skies, but at least not foggy. And it’s not hot – I even put my jacket on when walking Mo.
We left before 10 and got to see a bit of the beautiful countryside we’d missed in the fog the day before.
We stayed at Camping Lungomare for three nights – one morning we walked the dogs into the town to find a bank, and it was already so hot we had to stop three times to give them water. Luckily we almost always bring their bowl in my backpack when we go anywhere now so were well prepared with lots of water.
We had lunch a couple of times at the restaurant across from us – mixed seafood appetizer one day, then once again calamari. Both dishes were excellent, as was the pizza we had one evening – they have a large wood-fired oven, and that makes the best pizza.
One afternoon as we sat in the shade in the bar we watched a water aerobics class – they also had organized activities for kids.
A couple of evening swims in the Sea were wonderful – the water gets fairly deep very quickly so you don’t have to wade half a mile to start swimming.
When we left the campground we went north for a ways, then turned west into the hills, heading for the town of San Giovanni di Fiori – it wasn’t as charming as it sounded and we couldn’t find a place for coffee that had any space for parking so we eventually made it to the other side and just kept going.
We came to a lovely lake – lago Ampollino, and finally found a nice place for a coffee. It was a large picnic type area with a bar and restaurant – it normally probably would have been packed but we were the only ones there.
We chose a nice sounding campground, but you can’t always tell by the description. This one was right on the beach and was very large, with row after row of tall spruce trees marking the spaces.
No more than 10 or 15 minutes later she pulled up again and said ‘you haven’t registered yet!’ in an accusatory tone. We said we’re just making dinner – we’ll do it later, but that wasn’t good enough for her. I actually turned the stove off, pulled out my ipad and logged in to the website while she was there.
The next morning we decided to leave – despite one of their strict rules being ‘absolutely no noise between midnight and 8 am’ we were kept awake until after 2 am by the disco music from next door.
The morning was totally quiet and peaceful – no traffic noise at all, no roosters crowing, dogs barking or kids squealing. We left the parking lot at a decent time and said goodbye to Scopello – a place we’d come back to, maybe at a cooler time of year.
We took a different route back to the campground near Enna, heading along the north coast thru Palermo, then turning south along the motorway that goes inland and over to Catania. We made pretty good time, even thru the city, and saw a hilarious sight on the motorway – a small car was driving along with a sofa strapped to its roof.
My plan to take photos of the full moon rising over Etna didn’t work out as it rose too far to the south, although I did get some ok pics of the countryside at dusk. The light was gorgeous, even without the full moon.
We stayed two nights – got a bunch of laundry done, and took a couple of really nice swims in the pool. Paparanza is another campground we’ll return to if we’re fortunate enough to make it back to Sicily in the future.
We got a really nice start the day we left, but within ten minutes as we tried to get on the motorway we were diverted. The diversion was for quite a few miles – must have been a bad accident of something. After sailing along once again we hit another snag just outside Catania – the traffic was very heavy and it took us about an hour to get past the city and on our way north.
Etna was within sight much of the way – she’s almost always venting from the top, and often from one of her slopes as well.
Miss Waze got us to the ferry terminal ok – she’s not talking to me anymore, but does show details of the route, and as long as I’m on the ball we make the proper turns. 
We just missed one ferry, but only waited 35 minutes or so for the next one. They load and leave so quickly I can’t believe it, and after another 25 minute journey we were back on the mainland. Bye bye Sicily – hope to return one day!
We headed north up the motorway, then veered east to the ‘sole of the boot’. At one point along the coast we had to stop for Henry to take a pee, and the sign for a vending machine in the next parking lot cracked me up.
I didn’t bother going for it – what the heck is ‘Canapa Light’ – is it like light beer? If so – why bother? Hahaha.
We found a lovely campground right across the road from the Sea just outside the small town of Cropani Marina. 
The day after our Temple tour we left San Leone to go further up the coast to another nice-sounding campground right on the Sea in the small town of Triscina. 
We did ok navigating until shortly before our destination when we came across an unmarked very bad section of road and had to backtrack a bit.
The campground is pretty nice and the beach is beautiful, although kind of hard to walk on – the sand is very deep and fine, and got super hot as the day progressed.
The campground has a cafe but it’s not open – luckily there’s a bar down the beach a bit that is open, but doesn’t have red wine (!) – I settled for a glass of white. I carried Mo over the sand on the way there as I didn’t want her to burn her feet, but Henry didn’t seem to mind the walk.
There are several resident cats that are continually sauntering by and taunting the dogs – Mo and Henry go nuts barking and lunging on their rope and the cats just sit and smirk at them.
On our second day we went to the beach bar for lunch and they didn’t have a menu but he told us the two dishes we could choose from – we both went for the pasta, and it was very tasty.
The day we left I was planning on going for a morning swim but it was overcast and the water was on the chilly side – I settled for wading, being careful to not get too close to the fishing lines that were strung along one part of the shore.
Rather than continue on around the west coast we decided to go cross-country to a small village on the north coast. 
We found the general area no problem but locating the campground was a challenge – a couple of signs would have helped immensely.
There are several lovely but very crowded beaches and some large car parks but you’re not allowed to camp overnight. We finally found a fellow that gave clear enough directions that we eventually found the campground, only to be told they were closed three hours for lunch, and no we couldn’t park and we wait for them to re-open.
I must say that being desperate for business after the lockdown some places just don’t seem able to adjust and maybe try a little harder with their service – maybe don’t shut down for half the day when someone arrives to support your business.
We chose to continue up the road and find a place to have lunch, and were very glad of that decision. The lovely village of Scopello was right around the bend, with a large carpark just before it. We pulled in and the fellow spoke pretty good english – 5 euros for the day, or 10 if we wanted to stay overnight.
We took a walk into the village and found a restaurant overlooking the sea way down below – La Terrace. I once again got calamari, this time roasted, and once again it was a great choice.
There were only two other occupied tables when we were there – I bet in normal times the place would have been packed. It has a large outdoor space on several levels, all overlooking the brilliant blue Sea – it would be a lovely location for a wedding reception or some other such large gathering.
After lunch we strolled around a bit and ended up having a drink and a gelato at another place.
Back at the campervan we had a quiet evening – we’re as happy here as at any fancy campground, and I’m struck by the total quietness after the day-trippers had left and the locals had gone to their homes.
This village is another place that, in normal times, would be crawling with tourists – it’s nice to not have to fight crowds, but we do feel for the local businesses.
We had a fairly quiet day yesterday, only venturing out for groceries and to the pharmacy. I originally thought that a bone might have been broken in my left hand, but because I can wiggle my fingers and even bend them a bit I suspect it’s only badly bruised underneath.
Today we did one of our few ‘touristy’ things and visited the Valley of The Temples. It’s not actually in the valley, but rather on a ridge below the modern city of Agrigenta.
It must have been a very important centre for the ancient Greeks as there are several major temples and other things built over a period of a few hundred years starting around 2500 years ago or so.
We’d planned well and got to the site just after it opened at 8:30, and were well prepared with water, both for ourselves and the doggies. There were once again resident stray dogs, but mostly only near the entrance, and luckily they weren’t at all aggressive, although both Henry and Mo had a good bark at them.
The site was awesome – a series of temples in varying conditions from almost whole to just rubble, but it was all very interesting. 
We stopped frequently to let the dogs have water, and were glad we’d parked at the bottom and taken a cab up so the walk along back to the parking was all gently downhill.
The site includes a couple of unexpected things – some Girgentana goats, as well as a relatively modern villa that was built by an englishman and had a beautiful garden with many cacti, as well as great views.
By the time we reached the end of the main road it was getting pretty hot and we were ready to leave – very worth the visit, but our original plan of coming to Sicily in April would have been more comfortable, especially for the dogs.
Sally McKenzie's European Adventures 